Letter from the Director
Welcome to YMGE!
My name is Annie Cheng and I'm a sophomore in Ezra Stiles college majoring in Ethnicity, Race and Migration. Hailing from sunny central Florida, I have always loved roller coasters and the beach. On campus, I compete with the Model UN team, chaired for YMUN and SCSY, and am a secretariat member of YMUN. Having personally engaged in exciting IR debate, I understand how important the chair is in shaping a great committee experience and hope to witness phenomenal debate.
Outside of class and YIRA involvement, I'm also on the board of the Yale Hunger and Homelessness Action Project and founded/currently coordinate a food rescue project in New Haven. I'm also a managing editor for the the Yale Globalist magazine, and enjoy concerts and art museums in addition to good dim-sum.
I am looking forward to debating important issues that prevail in the European continent. As a range of political, economic, and sociocultural change sweeps across the world, many European countries are finding themselves at a crossroads, and Portugal is no different. It is my hope that your participation in the Cultural and Social Affairs committee will remind you of the humanity underlying world tensions. I look forward to your insightful ideas, solutions, and analyses of the modern world, and am excited to meet you soon as well.
If you have any questions, comments, clarifications, or gastronomical suggestions, please email me anytime at annie.cheng@yale.edu.
Best,
Annie Cheng
National Cabinet: Portugal
Committee History
Portuguese History Pre-Democracy
After a period of serial conflict in the western European peninsula between the various kingdoms, Portugal finally secured its independent country status in 1143.
The Portuguese Council of Ministries went on to prove this independence in 1385 as victors over the Castilians, who outnumbered the Portuguese 6:1. Later in the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal expanded empirically through colonizing territories that have since achieved independence, such as Brazil and Mozambique. The empire reigned for nearly six centuries, often through exploitative means. In the 20th century King Manuel II was overthrown in 1910 and a new era of republican government was ushered in. Faithful monarchists attempted to undermine the
young parliamentary republic, resulting in the installation of an authoritarian dictatorship. Decades later on April 25, 1974, a revolutionary, almost bloodless coup took place. The Carnation Revolution was led by the Movimiento das Forças Armadas (MAF). Civil protesters marched for decolonization and the protection of civil liberties previously banned by the dictator at the time: Marcello Caetano, and the ruling Second Republic (Estado Novo).
Portugal officially withdrew from African colonies, some of which —Mozambique and Angola— breaking into civil war shortly afterwards.
Two years later, the 1976 constitution cemented Portugal’s status as a democratic republic, a system of government that persists today. The document established a semi-presidential system with two core heads of power: the president and the prime minister. The president is elected through universal suffrage into a five year term with a maximum of two terms.
History Post-democracy
Despite the large movements of troops, the Carnation Revolution was mostly peaceful. Although the political and economic conditions were unstable, Portugal successfully integrated the citizens living in former colonies, relative to the transition of the French pied-noirs in Algeria. In 1979, the state established the National Health Service and public education systems, offering free health care and education to the population. Social security, minimum wage, and child care allowances quickly followed in a period of sweeping democratic change.
On January 1st, 1986, Portugal joined the European Union alongside Spain. The euro was adopted a decade later.
Structure
The cabinet exists at the state’s main law-making body, presided over by the prime minister. Other members include state government ministers and secretaries of state. While the president oversees governmental function, the parliament manages current and future public policy matters. The prime minister leads the cabinet as the head of civil service.
Current Prime Minister António Costa
Topic History: Decriminalization of drugs
Introduction
In July 2001, the Portuguese government set out to combat a wave of drug use sweeping through Europe with an extraordinary public policy venture. It all began with the National Strategy for the Fight Against Drugs Commission, established in 1999 to combat the increasing rates of heroin addiction. All drugs were decriminalized, including marijuana, cocaine, and heroin.
Initially, the United Nations International Narcotics Control Board disapproved of the acts. After seeing the progress made through reduced overdoses and lower incarceration rates, the Portuguese approach is now treated as an exemplar. In 2009, Glenn Greenwald of CATO, a public policy institute, demonstrated that the doomsayers were wrong about the experiment in a discussion of his field research findings. Through the Portuguese policy, user degrees of crime including light usage and possession of small amounts are treated as public health problems rather than criminal ones, although the drugs are still illegal.
The policy timeline is provided the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction, outlining the transformations of Portuguese policy through time.
Government Campaigns, Policies and Mechanisms
Citizens possessing less than a gram of heroin, ecstasy, or amphetamine, two grams of cocaine, or 25 grams of marijuana are not arrested. Rather, they are obligated to a citation and an appearance before a dissuasion panel. Dissuasion panels consist of legal, social, and psychological experts who decide whether or not to pursue treatment for the individual, which can include motivation counselling or opiate substitution therapy.
One motivator towards establishing the decriminalizing policies was the skyrocketing death toll due to HIV amongst Portuguese drug users: the highest of the European union. Since the law came into effect, the cases have dropped from over 1000 in 2001 to 56 in 2012. One of the major campaigns that have contributed to this decrease is "Say NO! to a used syringe,” a needle exchange program. The National Committee Against Aids partners with over 2,500 pharmacies across Portugal to exchange used syringes for kits including condoms, clean needle syringes, rubbing alcohol, and a note with information about treatment.
Other harm reduction mechanisms included an expansion of drop-in clinics and refuges for drug addicts, mobile centers to reduce the spread of infectious disease, low-threshold substitution programs, syringe and exchange schemes, and contact/information units. Full systems of treatment facilities, detox units, and day centers work together to make treatment more accessible and drug use safer. After treatment, after-care and social reintegration policies are also in place to help former addicts obtain jobs and homes through employment opportunities and training.
Social/Health Benefits
João Goulão, the current national drug coordinator of Portugal, has emphasized that the decrease in drug usage and related problems is not solely due to the decriminalization policies, but also due to the general increase of health and social welfare. The decriminalization was accompanied by an influx of resources allocated to prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and social reintegration programs. Since drugs are treated medically versus criminally, users are much more likely to come forward for treatment. While 1% of the Portuguese population used heroin in the 1990s (approximately 100,000 people), only 50,000 nowadays use the lethal drug — a meager number in consideration of population growth. Most already participate in the incentivizing substitute therapy, according to Goulão. Goulão is credited as an architect of the innovative drug policy, having done research into addiction treatment as a physician.
Decrease of Crime
The prison population of drug offenders decreased from 44% in 1999 to about 21% in 2012, creating a more manageable prison population and improving chances of rehabilitation and other forms of long-term treatment for non-violent offenders. Some have argued that drug-related crimes have increased — rather, the small uptick in crimes is predicted to be due to police officers having more free time to arrest non-drug offenders in the context of decriminalization.
Economic Benefits
While the vast network of drug-related health mechanisms is expensive, the Portuguese taxpayers pay significantly less for the cost of feeding, clothing, and sheltering a prison population. In addition, the social and health welfare mechanisms lead to a higher likelihood of reintegration into society than imprisonment. The pervasive, long-term commitment to treat addiction results in a destigmatized view of drug usage in Portugal as well, meaning employers are far less likely to punish addicts for their usage.
Summary
-Portuguese drug policy of decriminalization was instituted alongside social and economic welfare campaigns
-Policy mechanisms include harm reduction and prevention, dissuasion panels, accessible treatment facilities and information centers, needle exchange program, drop-in clinics, opiate substitution programs
-Structural and ideological attitude towards drugs results in destigmatized image and higher rate of treatment
-Drugs are still illegal, but treated as a public health versus criminal issue
-Decreased drug related deaths and HIV infections, decreased prison population
-Higher likelihood of reintegration into society compared to imprisonment
Current Party Ideology
The Portuguese cabinet is controlled by the Socialist Party with all other members represented as non-party-affiliated independents. The country’s Socialist Party is led by PM Costa, who forged partnerships between the radical Left Bloc and Communists. The party’s platform focused on fiscal flexibility, with plans to negotiate with an anti-austerity approach. However, in recent years, Portugal has been focused on EU compliance alongside social reform, enacting austerity structures to meet the requirements.
Further Research
Because the drug policy is so new, in both Portugal and on a global scale, research will likely prove challenging for delegates. I recommend analyzing the drug policy through various perspectives, and considering how it impacts demographics in Portugal. While the decriminalization is widely considered a success, it may be challenging to apply universally. I suggest noting the following research questions, and digging into comparable policies as well as cultures to explore the possibilities of either policy elimination or expansion, depending on how you choose to frame your position as a delegate. Pay close attention to the priorities of your particular position on council, and consider how decriminalization affects your assigned sector of government.
1. In consideration of how the Portuguese drug policy has resulted in a myriad of consequences — both good and bad — how could this policy prove revolutionary for other countries in the European Union?
2. How can the Council of Ministers continue improving the already innovative measures towards health and criminal policies?
3. Are there any economic, legal, or cultural drawbacks to the drug policy? What are they and how they be both retroactively and actively reduced?
4. How does Portugal approach international drug matters? What are the legal proceedings for citizens abroad?
5. What other countries have followed suit and decriminalized drug usage?
6. How has this decriminalization affected their populations?
7. With this data, consider how different factors such as GDP/capita, race, class distribution, gender, religion, and law can affect the success of a decriminalization policy within different country contexts.
http://www.portugal.gov.pt/en.aspx
http://www.gcdpsummary2014.com/#foreword-from-the-chair
http://www.drugpolicy.org/resource/approaches-decriminalizing-drug-use-and-possession
http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/disease-prevention/illicit-drugs
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/countries/prevalence-maps
